In a complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Irwin claimed utility knives sold by Gibbs under the name “Good Knife Irene” infringe two patents held by Irwin.

The first patent-in-suit, U.S. Patent Number 7,131,204, was issued in November 2006 and is titled “Utility knife with actuator for moving blade carrier...